Garment hanger construction



Aug. 4, 1953 M. H. FRIEDLER GARMENT HANGER CONSTRUCTION Filed June 18, 1949 j@ 20 INVENTOR 20 I l 2 g0 g3 25 Mama/wag 42 WW '24 ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 4, 1953 A N IT ED "STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,647,666 GARMENT HANGER CONSTRUCTION Max H. Friedler, Lewiston, Maine Application June 18, 1949, Serial No. 99,973 4 Claims. (01. 22s -s9 This invention relates to clothes hangers and more particularly to oardboardhangers.

It is an object of my invention to utilize the strengthening effect of tubularly contoured cardboard to provide a clothes hanger of suflicient rigidity to be self-sustaining of'the weight normally encountered insupporting clothes, and requiring no'extraneous reinforcement by metal or wood adequately to serve its intended purpose.

My invention has as its object the improvement of features disclosed in my Patent No. 2,341,607, granted February 15, 1944. In my aforementioned patent I provide a cover of cardboard for a wire coat hanger. A complete wire hanger comprising shoulder supporting branches and 'a cross bar terminating into a suspending hookformed'the skeleton for the cardboard covering strip. While sharp edges were minimized, the cost and bulk of the wire hanger did not completely effect the desired economies.

It'is accordinglyan object of my invention to provide a hanger assembly comprising a hook suspended triangular frame including a cardboard body having shoulder branch segments and a cross bar segment of parti-"tubular cardboard stock and including segments hinged to each other for employing the reversely contoured and internested relationship of semi-tubular parts to lock adjacent segments int engagement for-forming a self-sustaining rigid hanger.

It is a further object of my'invention to provide a hanger made of parti-tubular cardboard stock in which the curvilinear contour transversely as well as endwise is availed of to provide a low cost self-sustaining rigid assembly, functioning adequately to support garments in use without sharp or'narrow supporting edges tending to form crease lines in the garment hung thereon, to effect substantial economies 'both as tospace' and cost of the parts involved.

Toattain these objects and. such further objects as mayappear, herein, or be hereinafter pointed out, I make reference to the accompanying drawing forming a part hereof, in which Figure 1 is a plan view illustrating my invention; H

Figure 2 is the separated frame portion thereof collapsed to the storage condition or for ship ment; v t

Figure 3 is a magnified section taken on the line 3 3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is an exploded, partly assembled perspective view of my hanger;

Figure 5 is a section taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 1;

Figure 6 is a section taken on the line 6-6 of Figure 2; A

Figure 7 is a plan view of the blank for making the shoulder branch segments;

Figure 8 is a plan view of the blank for making the crossbar.

The invention briefly summarized includes the employment of rigid segments of parti-tubularly contoured cardboard or like inexpensive sheets as the primary component of a frame for a hanger and the provision of a novel hinge joint for transforming said segments into a triangular frame which may also be knookeddown into compact form.

Making reference to the drawing, I show a hanger Hi having shoulder branch segments H and I2, hingedly joined to each other by the common connecting tab I3, outlined by the angularly directed incised portions [4, l 4, terminating into av generally circular tear control fillet I5. Y The terminal portions of the shoulder branch segments have integrally formed therewith locking sections it and I1, connected by hinging tabs l8 and I9, respectively, outlined by the incised portions 20, '20 of the same construction previously described, with clearance sides 2! more obtusely formed than in connection with the incised portions 14. Apertures 22 are stamped out of the blank, for purposes which will appear as this description proceeds. A cross bar segment 23 is provided, whose ends 24 are outlined by angularly trimmed corners 25, conforming generally to the angular portions 2! previously de scribed.

With the blank as illustrated in Figures? and 8, the cardboard blanks are curved transversely by bending the branches II and I 2 into a fat fold 26. ,By way of exemplification this bending operation is effected about a curved mandrel plate, after moistening the cardboard and holding the same over the mandrel, which is suitably heated, to set the cardboard to the desired curvature, leaving the edges 21, 21 spaced from each other to provide an entrance slot therebetween. The segments l6, l1'are reversely bent and shaped, to direct the edges 28, 28 in an opposite direction and leave the fold line 29 of contour generally conforming to the curve of the fold 2 6.

The cross bar segment 23 is conformingly shaped to arrange the side edges 39 in close ad: jacency and form an upper edge fold 3|.

It will be observed that with the construction as described, the locking sections 18 and I! may be folded back about the hinge portions l8 and I9, respectively, to internest the branches H and 16. In this position, the cross bar segment 23 is positioned to be sandwiched in the resultant bifurcation formed between the branches i l and I2 and the locking segments IE and H, respectively, to position the opposed abutting ends 24 in close adjacency to the hinging tabs 18 and I9. A pulling force on the hinging end I3 or apex of the triangularly shaped frame, while applying weight to the cross bar, will direct the cross bar 23 to abut the ends 24, 24 against the inner surfaces of the fold formed by the hinging tabs l8 and id, as will be clearly apparent from an inspection of Figure l. The curvilinear condition of the cross bar 23 not only is rigid transversely but endwise by reason of its parti-tubular contour.

The internesting of the locking tab it with the conformingly shaped tubular cross bar 23 prevents displacement of the abutting ends 24 from engagement with the folds formed at the hinge points 18 and i9.

With the constructionas described, it will be observed that the incised edges M, M overlap each other about the tab 13. In this position I provide a hook 3i'formed of wire, bent at the portion 32, twisted together at the shank 33 and having the free portions 34, 34 bent to an angle substantially congruent to the branches H and I2, and terminating in a pair of spiral clinching fingers 35, preferably having two or more convolutions.

With the construction provided, the end 32 of the hook portion may be inserted through either of the perforations 22, drawing the shank 33 through the same until the spiral clinching fingers 35, 35 span and grip the edges 21 of the folds of the shoulder branches, and the sections 34 abut the inner wall of the fold of the segments 6! and i2, respectively.

It will be observed that the convolutions spanning the edges so described retain the cardboard in the folded condition, resisting any tendency of the shoulder branches to collapse and rigidifying the branches longitudinally.

For shipment or storage purposes, it will be observed that the branches H and It may be moved to the aligned position, as shown in r Figure 2, the internested relationship of the cross bar 23 in no way interfering with this movement and retaining the locking sections l6 and H in the nested position, thereby providing an assembly which in the partially knocked-down condition occupies the minimum amount of space. A large number of the cardboard or stiffener paper portions may thereby be shaped and stored compactly and require merely the pushing in of the hinge ends 18 and 19 to each other to move the apex forming portion i3 up and set up the side branch segments thereof to the triangular outline, the complete assembly being effected by passing the hook into engaging position as described.

It will be understood that while I have described and illustrated the cardboard section made of two parts in which one constitutes the shoulder branch segments and another part constitutes the cross bar segment, the hanger may be made of a single strip in which the locking segment is integrally formed with one shoulder branch segment and the cross bar is formed integrally with the other branch segment. The

locking action adjacent the base of the triangle constituting the cross bar segment and the shoulder branch segment will, in other respects, be identical with that previously described.

Likewise it will be observed that while I have described the locking segment integral with a branch segment, I may form the locking segment in a reversely folded position integrally with the cross bar segment and internest the end of the shoulder branch segment between {a -cross bar and an extension of "the cross bar segment.

It will thus be seen that I have provided a low cost, compact hanger assembly made of relatively inexpensive cardboard and conforming to all requirements of a hanger with regard to rigidity in normal use, with freedom from any tendency to mar the clothing by reason of the fat fold supporting edges characteristic of wooden or more bulky hangers.

Having thus described my invention and illustrated its use, what I claim asnew and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In a coat hanger, a body portion of partitubular cardboard stock having integral shoulder branch segments angularly disposed to each other, the segments being joined by a connecting member integral with said segments, the connecting member being incised to permitthe adjacent ends of the segments to overlie each other to provideangular dispositionv of the shoulder branch segments with respect to each other, and a cross-bar attached to the shoulder segments to form a rigid structure,

2. A coat hanger structure as set forth in claim- 1 including a suspending metal hook on said hanger between said shoulder branch segments, said hook having end portions angularly disposed to each other at substantially the-angle between the shoulder segments to underlie and support the latter,

3. A coat hanger having a body portion of parti-tubular cardboard stock. having integral shoulder branch segments angularly disposed to each other, the segments being joined by a connecting member integral with said segments, the connecting member being incisedto permit the adjacent ends other to provideangular disposition of the shoulder branch segments with respect to each other, and a cross-bar attached to the shoulder segments to form a rigid structure, including a suspending metal'hook on said hanger between said shoulder branch segments, said hook having end portions angularly disposed to each other at substantially the angle between the shoulder segments to underlie and support the latter, in which each angularly disposed end portion of the hook terminates in a gripping member to grip the shoulder. branch segment adjacent thereto to increase the strength of the structure.

4. In a coat hanger, a suspending metal wire hook having end portions angularly disposed to each other, each angularly disposed end portion terminating in a spirally convoluted gripping member.

MAX H. FRIEDLER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Coney Jan. 30, 1945 of the segments to overlie each 

